Disclosure: If you came here for a feel-good pep talk, wrong door. This is Bloody Finance. Grab a seat, sinner.
Greed in investing isn’t a bug in your system. It’s the operating system. Don’t give me that “I’m disciplined, I don’t chase.” Bullshit. You chase. Everybody does. From the caveman hoarding more meat than he needed to the banker hoarding more zeros in his bonus than he can ever spend — greed is the same virus, just updated for the times.
And if you still think you’re above it, let me ask you: last time your portfolio jumped 20%, did you sell and lock profit, or did you sit there drooling, imagining 40%? Yeah. Exactly. You’re no monk. You’re just another greedy bastard trying to mask it with words like “vision” or “conviction.”
The Shiny Face of Greed
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: greed built everything you admire. Bezos didn’t invent Amazon to “serve the customer.” He wanted domination, and he got it. Musk didn’t light billions on fire with rockets because he’s a dreamer — he smelled legacy, power, and fat government contracts. Rockefeller didn’t become Rockefeller by thinking “moderation is key.” He squeezed the world dry and called it progress.
Without greed, there’s no capitalism. Nobody buys stock to watch it flatline. You want up, you want more, you want the dopamine hit of “winning.” And sometimes, greed delivers. It’s the spark that makes you take a risk when everyone else hesitates. It’s the itch that makes you push further while your cautious neighbor watches Netflix.
The shiny version of greed whispers: “You can be more. You can crush them. You can own the damn table.” And if you harness that hunger, maybe you do. Greed built empires, funded revolutions, and made nobodies into legends. Without it, you’re just clipping coupons while someone else buys your house.
The Bloody Consequences
But greed isn’t your friend. It’s your drug dealer. And like every addict, you always think you’re the one in control.
How many times did you stare at a chart, swear you’d take profit, and then said, “just a little more”? How many times did you refuse to walk away from the table, even as the candles turned red, because you needed that extra hit? And when it all collapsed, did you admit fault? No. You cried, blamed the Fed, blamed the whales, blamed “market manipulation.” Admit it: you got greedy, and greed kicked your ass.
The dot-com bubble? Pure greed. People buying companies with no revenue, no plan, no product — just the promise of endless upside. When reality hit, they lost everything. GameStop and AMC? Same high, new packaging. Don’t pretend you joined for “justice.” You joined because you smelled fast money, and most of you ended up bag-holders while the early birds cashed out.
Or take crypto. Terra/Luna was a goddamn Ponzi, but billions poured in because greed blinded everyone. “It’s stable, it’s the future, it’s free money.” Until it wasn’t. Until it zeroed out portfolios and sent people crying on Reddit about losing life savings.
And then there’s Nick Leeson — the trader who personally bankrupted Barings Bank, a 200-year-old institution. One man. One greedy bastard doubling down on losses until the entire empire collapsed. If you think greed only wipes out amateurs, think again. It nukes kings too.
Greed doesn’t just drain your account — it humiliates you. It leaves you broke, ashamed, and muttering “if only I’d sold sooner” like a prayer.
The Psychology of Greed
Here’s why you keep screwing yourself: greed isn’t logical. It’s chemical. Your brain isn’t wired for “enough.” It’s wired for more.
That dopamine hit you get when your stock jumps? That’s the same drug gamblers chase at slot machines. That’s why you keep refreshing your trading app like it’s Instagram. You’re not managing wealth — you’re getting high.
“Just one more.” One more trade. One more margin loan. One more roll of the dice. And when you win, you don’t stop. You escalate. Because now you believe you’re a genius. Spoiler: you’re not. You’re just another addict with a brokerage account.
And don’t kid yourself with fancy language. You call it “conviction,” “strategy,” “long-term thesis.” Please. You’re not Buffett — you’re just another junkie chasing green candles at 3 a.m.
Taming the Beast
You can’t kill greed. You can only leash it.
- Set targets before you trade. Not in the middle of the adrenaline rush. Before.
- Use stop-losses. Or keep pretending your diamond hands are worth anything when your account bleeds out.
- Take wins. Profit booked is profit real. Everything else is fantasy.
- Admit you’re greedy. The ones who deny it are always the first to blow up.
Greed is like fire. Controlled, it cooks your food. Out of control, it burns your house down.
Bloody Finance Take
Greed is in you, and it will never leave. The question is whether you chain it or let it eat you alive.
Don’t play dumb — you’ve already lost money to it. You’ve already refused to walk away from the table, already held too long, already begged the market gods for one more miracle while your balance evaporated. You think you’re better than history? Tell that to the thousands who got wiped out before you.
You’re not special. You’re just next.
Keep reading, keep growing. Bloody Finance.